jandrew,

Your answer can be found on the Gabby Giffords article. The vast majority on the right wished her well and had only good things to say. The few that spewed garbage, likely trolls only out to stir up responses.

And yes, I wish the best for Senator Kirk.

I'm definitely not a fan of Kirk but I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I hope he has a speedy, full recovery. Much too young to be having a stroke.

Sen. Mark Kirk , I wish you a full and speedy recovery.....

I don't wish him no ill will however my question is do he now have a better understanding of the people who do not or cannot afford insurance. I am sure he is getting the best care our money will pay for, but what about the people who cannot afford the proper or any care for that matter. I hope this is a lesson learned.

I didn't vote for him, but golly gee -- I wish him well. He was doing so good in the Senate. How does this happen? I hear of more and more friends and family having stroke. This is terrible.

I wish the senator the best for a rapid and full recovery. He's a politician and likely lives a very busy lifestyle with many fast food meals and little rest. Sooner or later "A burger and Fries" catches up with all of us.

Best of luck to you Sen. Kirk.

I sure hope Sen. Kirk fully recovers and does so as quickly as possible. As a democrat in his district I enjoy arguing back and forth via e-mail about his policies.

Mr. Kirk was not my choice for Senator - having said that, I wish him a full & speedy recovery!

He is in good hands @ Northwestern Hospital!

Please get well, Senator Kirk.

Feisty I agree fully I wish Sen Kirk a full and speedy recovery. Northwestern is a great Hospital!

The Standard American Diet (SAD) strikes again.

Watch "Food, Inc." for an indictment of the American corporate food conglomerates.

.

The only thing left of my politics is the Pacific Ocean but having had a father go through two strokes and pass 6 months ago I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Good luck and speedy recovery Senator.

I'm as far the other side of things from Sen. Kirk as anyone can be, but I wish him well.

He is in absolutely the best place in the country for what he's going through. The staff at Northwestern is stellar.

I only hope he has time to reflect on what his situation would be like if the millions of dollars (and I speak from experience on this particular subject) in upcoming medical bills weren't being covered by first-rate insurance.

While I too wish the Senator to get well, maybe he should resign. Stress is a factor which can lead to a stroke and make recovery more difficult. Since the governor can no longer appoint a replacement, if Sen. Kirk resigned now, there is plenty of time for potential replacements to get on the primary ballots.

jandrew - the best course of action is to always have a politician voted out of office.

Here is to senator kirks quick recovery.

Dirp101, that is a valid consideration.

Hey Bob - you aren't talking about Betty Redhead are you?

Just saw that obama has delayed his suggested FY2013 budget by one week to feb 13th.

Looks like He's going to be fine. I sure hope so. My best to you and your loved ones Senator. May you come roaring back with the sturdy wind of principal at your back.

Very nice posts for a change. Best wishes Senator Kirk get well soon.

bob-18058084: I don't know about "Buy a bowel" while playing Wheel of Fortune, maybe Operation ? :-D

dirp101...don't expect that to happen. All other things aside, health insurance with a pre-existing condition after changing jobs would be very hard to get....opps...I almost forgot....he's got it for the rest of his life, no need to worry. Forget I brought it up.

BOB: Hey buddy, too bad you were not around last night when the story of Gabby Giffords resignation was announced. You could have read all the really lovely posts by those sharing your political convictions. Charming things, quite lovely, you know, like "Too bad she didn't die", "She should have resigned day one", "I don't want to pay for god damn health care" and lot's more really "feed good" kinds of posts. I need no leture from you on how benevolent the Right is. I"ve seen your "Compassionate Conservatism" up close and personal. No thank you.

GMAN'S quote "I don't wish him no ill will however my question is do he now have a better understanding of the people who do not or cannot afford insurance. I am sure he is getting the best care our money will pay for, but what about the people who cannot afford the proper or any care for that matter. I hope this is a lesson learned"

Complete hogwash Gman. If you suffered a stroke on the streets of Chicago and were hauled into a Chicago hospital, you would recieve the same care as this Senator. Your lesson is that you are an uninformed person on how hospitals operate in a "life or death" situation. They don't ask for an insurance card before they save your life. This idea that people would get turned away is a complete lie of the highest order. ALL hospitals in this country have to take you in, and that is a fact. Your argument does hold water in "prevention" but lacks ANY credibility when it concerns a life and death situation. I know of what I speak, you obviously do not.

Best of luck to him. A stroke is not an easy thing to recover from, but it can be done. Sounds like Sen. Kirk got help in time to have the best possible outcome.

brianb- if you bothered to read, Betty Redhead (who is only Betty in your mind) had a very nice post.

Joe F - I lost my father to a series of strokes a few years ago and I couldn't agree with you more. No one should have to go through this. Feisty is right - he's in good hands at Northwestern.

army-3854635' wrote:

"jandrew, Your answer can be found on the Gabby Giffords article. The vast majority on the right wished her well and had only good things to say."

You're right, 'army', most of the posts on the Rep. Giffords story were compassionate. However it's troubling to me that a significant number of the posts were not compassionate, and many were downright unkind and/or hateful. Such as the following:

'racingfish' wrote:

"I too am glad that she finally made the decision to give up her seat. I've always wondered how well she would be able to do her job for her district during her recovery, and that it may not be fair to those who reside in that district that she wasn't able to fulfill her commitment to them. She also has been living in Texas since being moved there earlier last year."

REPLY: Life isn't always "fair." And I would argue that life hasn't been fair to Rep. Giffords, either (or more recently to Sen. Kirk). Rep. Giffords' injury occurred at a "Town Hall Meet & Greet" with her constituents in her Congressional District, which makes it a work related injury. Her injury has undoubtedly racked up million$ of dollars in medical bills, which is paid for by her insurance as a United States Representative in Congress.

And now Sen. Kirk is facing a battle of his own to return to good health.

We typically do not ask people to resign their jobs in this country when they are injured or sick, recognizing that with the loss of their insurance benefit from their employment their injury or illness might leave them destitute. This is a fairness and compassion issue for a victim of a violent crime; not an issue of fairness to her Congressional district.

If we are going to find fault with elected officials whom are not meeting their responsibilities to their constituents, rather than point a finger at individuals whom are injured or ill, by no fault of their own, why don't we instead point to those incumbent State Governors and incumbent Members of Congress who, by their own choice, neglect the jobs they were elected and are being generously paid to do ...so they can instead campaign for another office! I would consider that unfair to their constituents.

My prayer and good wishes for a speedy and complete recovery Senator, keep the faith.

Well said Eric. I too wish the senator well.

I had a similar stroke some time back. Took me about six months to regain reasonable use of my left hand, I think mandolin picking helped. Mentally? I'm not sure how sane I was before the stroke?

JCB-You do not know of what you speak! Yes, you get EMERGENCY care equal to others without reguard to insurance, but down the road the care is not equal. You probably do not have a regular doctor (no money to visit someone on a regular basis), so you get assigned a doctor that is employed to take patients that do not have a doctor (read no money). You can do the math on that. I would hope the treatment and decisions made while you are hospitilized are the same, but I imagine some administrators are inclined to offer up reasons why you don't need the more expensive treatments (since the hospital is paying the bill).

With all of the talk of what happens when a notable Politico is incapacitated wouldn't it be a good idea for these people to name someone they know would defend their values and ideas to replace them until recovery or replacement by whatever means? This would ensure the voters would get someone to represent the values that they voted into office in a way. Of course this would have to be implemented in a general election.

Senator, recover soon and with all your faculties intact. My 32 yr. old sister suffered a stroke a while back, I sympathize.

the bipartisan bickering continues I see.

Godspeed Mr Kirk

call it a stroke of luck ...for the democrats...well i'm a troll...

I disagree with the comment that most on the right wished Gabby well. I read the entire thread and the majority of right wingers had something nasty to say. Or used it as an opportunity to make a nasty political statement about democrats. Or atleast threw in some snide remark of some kind. Not all, but most.

As for Mr.Kirk, I wish him a speedy and full recovery. Lets hope he got treatment soon enough to minimize the damage, that is always a big factor with strokes and how much damage they do. Being that he is still rather young, his prognosis is probably good. The Brain has an amazing ability to heal itself and re-path connections. Best of luck to you sir.

Everyone should familiarize themselves with the symptoms of a stroke, it may be the difference between a full recovery and life in a wheelchair or worse. The sooner you get to the hospital, and get treatment, the better the outcome. Its known as the golden hour. You have one hour, and then it goes down hill rapidly.

dirp101

I disagree, strokes can be recovered from and he should be given the same time and consideration to determine his future that Gabby Gifford was afforded. Don't start with the politics on this.

If we are going to find fault with elected officials whom are not meeting their responsibilities to their constituents, rather than point a finger at individuals whom are injured or ill, by no fault of their own, why don't we instead point to those incumbent State Governors and incumbent Members of Congress who, by their own choice, neglect the jobs they were elected and are being generously paid to do ...so they can instead campaign for another office! I would consider that unfair to their constituents.

Let us also include Presidents and presidential candidates and any other paid politician in that group.

I live in Arizona and have been represented by Congresswoman Giffords. Since she announced her resignation today, we were just talking about how, generally, even the republicans here were kind and concerned about her recovery. That didn't stop a few of the tea-nuts and right wingers, especially those from other AZ districts, from immediately demanding her resignation after she was shot. I'm really glad she was given time to recover enough to make this decision on her own. Rep. Giffords has an amazing staff that kept her -- and us -- totally informed, via letters, e-mail and the internet, about the issues and continued to hold neighborhood meetings and open houses to help where they could. We never felt we weren't being represented. I think Ms. Giffords made the right decision at the right time and, of course, we all wish her continued recovery.

We wish the same for Senator Kirk and hope he is given time to make his own decision about whether he will be able to continue to represent his people. Sometimes people can have a speedier than expected recovery, so it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit and hope all goes well with his treatment. All the best, Mr. Kirk.

If this were anyone other than a US Senator, I would agree, take your time, see if you will get well, don't worry about the work, we'll have someone else take care of it in the mean time. However, that is not the case here. This is a United States Senator. No one else can do the job of proposing, promoting, and voting for bills.

During the months or years it will take until the Senator is able to function enough to get back on the Senate floor, the people of the State of Illinois will be deprived of his vote and voice on the Senate floor. The Senate does not allow vote by proxy and while he is recovering, he will not be voicing his opinion on many critical issues, not the least of which is the nominee for President of the United States.

I don't wish the Senator to not recover. This is not a matter of his family being deprived of income. Having served in the Congress for over 6 years, the Senator will enjoy a retirement package, which, combined with no longer needing to maintain a DC area residence, should be sufficient to keep his family fed.

I simply believe that the Senator should make the decision to leave office before the next general election so that the people of Illinois will have the opportunity to vote his successor, rather than have a politician in Springfield chose who it should be.

Amen to your closing paragraph, dirp.

Bite your Tongue America & wish'em a Speedy Recovery!

Occupy SoggyBottom!

Kirk and Giffords should send a message to Congress and Senate leaders that health care needs to be addressed .. get well senator

I'm with all those wishing the Senator a speedy recovery. We'll certainly miss your emails.

His doctor indicates he should make a good recovery. I would be surprised if he resigned.

Most of the comments I hear from folks like Paul Ryan think the program that the members in Congress have is what we all should have. Obamacare is far from that. I have not looked into all the particulars of their health program but the GOP wants us to have their coverage over Obamacare-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wsnHGI5K-E

You're hoping for too much.

812L This is all news to me. You're saying Paul Ryan is pushing for single payer health care??? Hardly. No, he wants to privatize Medicare and I'm sure would do the same to Social Security given half a chance. Your party has the is obsession with the private sector. You seem to think that everything in the world should be for profit. Health care is the very last thing on earth which should be for profit which is why we have far and way the world's most expenseive health care and yet we rank 26th or so in terms of quality of care. Please tell me what insurance companies do to add to health care??? All they do is dramatically run up the costs of it. That's why when you go to your doctor's office, he has a small army of staffers who are shuffling papers and fighting with insurance companies. Would you want your police and fire departments to be privatized as well???

812: Why do we make it about race??? Cause when demagogues like Newt Gingrich suggest that poor kids have no work ethic & should scrub toilet bowls and calls Obama the "Food stamp president" these are dogwhistles that the Right thrives on. Remember, yours is the party that cheers at Rick Perry listing the # of executions in Texas, the party that boos a soldier, serving in a combat zone because he is gay and mocking and demonizing the poor at every turn.

Liberals bring up race because the Right insists on making an issue of it. Do you actually think that because the GOP has a half dozen Blacks in the party that means that racism is dead??? Hardly. Never heard of Nixon's "Southern Strategy", the Willie Horton ad, and in a thousand other ways, your party thrives on racism. You're only more subtle about it now then in years past.

They need to finish privatizing the military (17k contractors in Iraq) and prisons (won't legalize marijuana) before they tackle police and fire, but that's in their ALEC plan. I'm glad people are starting to see the hypocrisy of the Republican party, or at least the "religious" segment of it, who are only out for themselves and are pretty low wattage. The wealthy segment is at least honest in admitting that they are all about profit and could care less about people other than corporate "people".

Intrepid-your view of the facts are poor-The question being asked was booed not the soldier-but that is what the left does. I watched that debate and what the MSM did to misrepresent the facts is appalling.

812: The facet remains they booed a combat soldier serving in a combat area. Can you imagine what the Right would say had Democrats done that to a soldier??? There would be rioting in the streets. Nor did you refute my remark about cheering about executions. This from the party that claims direct contact and guidance from God. Can you say HYPOCRITES???

And what make you think that poor people lack the work ethic. You've never heard of the WORKING POOR??? Here's a clue for you, MOST POOR PEOPLE WORK FOR A LIVING. They simply don't earn enough to make a decent living. And guess what, your party which decries "Welfare Queens" is the very same party that wants to DO AWAY WITH THE MINIUMUM WAGE!!! Then you'll bitch even more about how many people are on welfare.

Lastly, Gingrich doesn't have to say anything about Blacks, it's in all code my friend. How many Blacks were in that audience? I daresay very few to not. Newt is a master demagouge and knows how to pour gas on an already raging fire. You are correct about one thing, most people on foodstamps ARE WHITE, but that's not the way Ginrich played it. He knows precisely what to do to get a conservative crowd up in arms and he proved how masterful he is at it this week.

oi , where did you get the info that most of the food stamps go to whites? please let me know your sources so i can research it myself. i always wondered what the breakdown was among ethnic groups but you already seem to know.just curious.

intrepid-no lets not assume poor people lack a work ethic but instead lets help those that do not have a work ethic. However I think you will find a lot of poor people are that way because they do lack a good work ethic-I am not saying all but a good number of. But if I suggest that you can call me a racist. That is what the left does-lets call everyone a racist if the have any idea other than handouts to help the poor

LN1958362-sorry I have no link to give you but have heard it on both TV and radio that those are the facts. Guess you could google it???

LN1958362http://save.lovetoknow.com/Welfare_Statistics this link shows that 41% of food stamps go to whites the rest is divided among 4-5 other groups--whites being the largest

812: Yea, it hurts young workers. The Right always has a great excuse why they should do NOTHING to help the disadvantaged. You're giving me the straight GOP talkiing points. You left out that "Liberals are enabgles for the poor and condition them to not work". Admit you were gonna come back with that one. Im right, ain't I???

You see, if you do away with the minium wage there will be more poor people on welfare and who do you suppose will be the first to scream "Welfare Queen"??? Get real. People putting in an honest days work deserve a living wage. Simple as that. Your party has more excuses to give the rich more tax breaks, oh, excuse me, I meant to say "Job Creators" LOL but to do anything for those at the bottom of the heap makes you UnAmerican.

As for booing what a solder said as opposed to who he was, my but aren't we parsing our words here. Had liberals booed any soldier for ANY REASON we would be labled as Commie traitors. Come to think of it, that's how the Right usually labels us. LOL

oi812 - what utter nonsense you are posting. And, people are to believe this garbage? Please. Minimum wage increases would no more hurt young people from getting jobs than the ocean is pink! And, everyone should be ashamed the soldier was booed - and he definitely was.

This post however is about Senator Kirk. You've certainly strayed far off course.

If paul ryan is advocating a healthcare plan like congress has, then he has taken his talking points directly from the 2008 campaign trail and President Obama, this is what he was fighting for all along, however, since he is much nicer than I am and invited the right to the table they then brought their friends from the health insurance industry and crashed the party and any hopes for the American people to have real health care solutions - me, I would have kicked the health insurance industry right out the door and made fodder of anyone who thought it was not right for us to have the same health plan that members of congress and anyone else who works for the federal government has, after all I pay for theirs and they are no more important than anyone else on this 3rd rock from the sun. I do wish Senator Kirk a speedy and full recovery, unfortunately, I have worked in Neurosurgery for so long that I do know the chances of that happening are slim - there is always some residue or piece of the brain that will not work corretly again, it may not show up for years down the road, but eventually it will. He has excellent healthcare and the money for private nursing so at least his family won't be totally worn down from caring for him like most in this great nation are after caring for a family member who has had a stroke. This is one instance that money really does matter. Having said that, stroke is a serious illness that can sometimes be prevented and other times can't and the recovery is a living hell that no one deserves. peace be with you and your family, Senator Kirk, your road is a long one to walk and I wish you the best on your journey.

sorry oi , but i don't listen to the radio or watch tv to get facts.you can go to plenty of other websites that will argue the fact and i don't waste my time with dribble . whats the percentage of black population to white that you base your facts on?there are far more whites in the population at this time so the percentages are skewed if you base your facts on that , or should i say the facts of the mainstream media whom you base your judgements on. sounds like you are a closet racist.good night irene.

LN: And what websites do you go to to get your facts from???

Sorry, oi812 is right about raising the minumum wage costs entry level jobs. Whenever the Government mandates anything to do with wages or prices there are unintended consequences usually always negative. Remember the gas lines after Nixon's disastrous attemps at controlling prices? It's easy being Liberal when you're young. Then you grow up and face reality.

BTW Senator, get well soon.

LINDA: Again, you evidently did not see the discussion last night regarding Gabby Gifford's resignation. Some of the stuff spewed forth by the Right does not bear repeating here. A sorry commentary on many of my fellow Americans.

wait til one specific poster comes on here and says her two cents worth since he is a REP and she lives in IL and has a specific hair color.

You're right, Intrepid, I didn't...and I'm glad I didn't. I wish we all listened more and "shouted" less. There are mean spirited people on both sides of the aisle; I was just lauding the kindness I was hearing here.

Buck, you missed feisty's comment. She said some really nice and caring things. May be you need to look into the mirror before accusing someone?

lawful1 - you are absolutely correct, the sooner you get to a tier 3 trauma unit after or during a sroke the better your chances of survival and recovery. Be aware, know the signs, we saved my Mom's life as she had a stroke at our house, we got her to the trauma unit with an hour and she has had 5 really good years, starting to be unhealthy now, but those 5 years were great for her and for us.

SPO: Yes, Newt Gingrich is the voice of tolerance, caring, sensitivity and all that is good and right with the world. LMFAO He is the worst sort of hatchet man. So bad in fact, that even most of the other mean spirited people who make up the bulk of your party detest him. Yes, he is even too hateful for the GOP!!!

So you think the Left has made hateful comments regarding this topic??? I would direct you the Gabby Giffords article. After viewing the responses, come back and tell me with a straight face that the Left is more posionous than the Right.

Spo de o de

I could see why someone in Politics might get a stroke after reading comments from articles like this one. Newt Gingrich is right, the NEWS is filled with political hatred and look how much of it comes from the left!

Yet, Newt Gingrinch uses every opportunity to go on national TV News stations and radio shows to get his political point across all the while blasting the main stream media, which is the only way he can get his message across the entire USA. And while getting that message across he uses the most vile message he can to stir up the hate of the right.

INTREPID and Chalk, thanks for proving my point!

Spo, what's your point? You mean Newt is the master when it comes to manipulating the media? I'll agree to that. He has lots of $$$ to buy all the TV ads, at least his superpac.

lonesome, there is only one Media Manipulator Master, and that would be OBAMA. Look how he duped the Left to vote him into office as a Jr. No-body from Illinois!

Spo de o de - As far as I can see your post is one of the few spouting hate. Most of the posts on this site - including those from lefties - are wishing the Senator a speedy recovery. To bad the hate-filled right can't bother to give it a rest for once. It truly just shows the ignorance of certain posters.

If you are truly "seeking sanity", maybe you can read the posts again and count the political commentary from both sides. An article about a life-threatening serious medical issue STARTED with a lot of heartfelt good wishes.

Then, the usual breakdown of rhetoric into "politics" begins to corrode the story. The diviseness of this country along political lines is truly breathtaking .... and it is not air you truly want to breathe. The Senator has a serious health issue and that should be the only point of discussion. This story is not about his politics .... it is about his health.

SeekingSanity, again Generalizations from the LEFT to label anyone with a different view a RIGHTY and HATE MONGER. Thanks for extending the proof of my earlier point. I'm truly beginning to believe Liberalism is a Mental Disorder.

Oh but Rufus hasn't entered the comment thread yet. Just wait.

STORMY: I am a Liberal and have no particular affection for Senator Kirk but I got to tell you, comments like yours merely add to the coarsening of our political system. I want to replace Republicans with Democrats that we have beaten fair and square in elections, not through tragedy or mishap.

As for a "Non Politician" they don't exist. The minute they get into office they become the very thing that they railed against. I have no problem is career politicians if they do their job the way they're supposed to. And some of them actually do exist.